


All The Right Moves

by definitelynotawriter



Category: Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: F/M, anyways claire and owen are both raptor trainers, sorry if this is super ooc, that's it really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-22
Packaged: 2018-04-14 11:08:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4562325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/definitelynotawriter/pseuds/definitelynotawriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Owen didn't understand why they needed someone else to work with them on the raptor project. Not including him and Barry, there were only 7 or 8 other men working closely with them. Even then, him and Barry were the only ones working hands on with the raptors.<br/>When he found out Hoskins also agreed they didn't need another trainer, he became curious. The bastard had been trying to get more money and more manpower funneled into his project since before the raptors were even incubating. Owen's curious as to what about this new trainer makes Hoskins dislike the idea of him.</p><p>Turns out the problem is that they're not a him, they're a her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first fanfic for Jurassic World! So I'm sorry if this is super out of character. Just a warning I'm awful at grammar.  
> But please let me know if there's anyway I could improve! Whether it's about the characters personalities or anything else, I would love to get feedback. Regardless thank you for reading :)

Owen didn't understand why they needed someone else to work with them on the raptor project. Not including him and Barry, there were only 7 or 8 other men working closely with them. Even then, him and Barry were the only ones working hands on with the raptors. 

When he found out Hoskins also agreed they didn't need another trainer, he became curious. The bastard had been trying to get more money and more manpower funneled into his project since before the raptors were even incubating. Owen's curious as to what about this new trainer makes Hoskins dislike the idea of him.

Turns out the problem is that they're not a him, they're a her.

"I can assure you that Claire Dearing is very good at her job Mr.Grady. She will be an excellent addition to your team." Mr. Masrani was only half paying attention to him, and Owen trailed behind him, frustrated that no one would listen to his opinion before and that he was now being ignored.

"With all due respect sir, two people working hands on with the raptors is enough. It'll already be impressive if they're tolerant of Barry, I just don't think they'd deal well with a third person."

"Well you will find out soon enough. She's already been signed on. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lesson to get to."

Owen was left grumbling in the hallway.

\-------

"You can't seriously tell me you think this is a good idea?"

Barry laughed at Owen and continued reading his book. Owen would have hoped at least Barry would've had his back. But no. "Fuck, the only person who agrees with me is Hoskins."

"Well, Hoskins is a sexist bastard. You just aren't open to new possibilities. I have met Claire, she's worked with many of the animals. Been here for about 8 years already. She's good, you two would get along."

"Where is she working now?"

"With the apatosaurus."

Owens eyebrows raised and he stared at Barry incredulously. "She'll be going from working with apatosaurs to raptors?"

Chuckling, Barry put his book down and looked at Owen. "Trust me. She'll do fine. You should go meet her." He checked his watch, picking his book up again and kicking his feet up. "She should be heading out the the apatosauruses territory. One has become ill and they're about to go sit with it in it's last moments. May give you an idea of what it's like to work with these animals."

"How do you know this?'

"I check the emails they send out. Don't you?" Owen could hear the smile in his voice and chose to ignore Barry's teasing, instead heading out.

Getting on his bike he thought it over and realized Barry was right. He'd worked with plenty of animals, but he had yet to see a live dinosaur. He understood they were living, breathing creatures, but in the haste of being recruited to work here and settle in, all of the paperwork and preparation for the raptors to be hatched had kept him from preparing himself for what he was doing.

Owen rode around the island for a good 20 minutes trying to find Claire Dearing, and after finally asking for help managed to meet up with the group of people heading out to see the apatosauras, but found Claire Dearing nowhere in site. He pulled a small kid who was likely an intern aside and asked about her.

"Ms.Dearing is already out with the animal. We're heading there now, but she wanted some alone time with her before..." He trailed off, and Owen just nodded walking away.  
Whether it was appropriate to or not, he decided to get in the jeep with the rest of the men and women heading out, and next thing he knew he was in a car heading towards the fields the apatosaurus roamed.

As they neared the fields Owen saw the dinosaur lying one the ground, its stomach moving up and down in a way that looked like it was taking slow, shaky breaths. Sitting by it's head was a woman, bright red hair clipped back. She had her hands on its face and seemed to be stroking it, speaking to it. The car came to a stop, and while no one else moved, Owen got up despite the protests of the kid he'd spoken to earlier.

"You should really wait until-" He ignored him, and walked towards them, slowing his pace the closer he got. He settled down on the opposite side of the dinosaurs neck than, and watched her. Her skin was fair and spotted with freckles. She had bangs that fell just under her eyebrows and blocked her eyes from him. She had on skinny cargo pants and a loose tanktop, which showed off her arms. She wasn't too buff, but was muscular. Despite him obviously observing her, she didn't look up at him, keeping her eyes trained on the obviously ill apatosaurus.

"I thought I said no one was to come out until I gave the go ahead."

"I'm sorry, Claire. I didn't listen to them." She quickly glanced up at him, but quickly looked back down at the dinosaur. "I'm Owen Grady."

"I know who you are. I helped pick you when they were looking for people to train the raptors."

Owen quieted, and watching her smile and talk quietly to the apatosaurus made him wish that he hadn't intruded on this moment. She must of sensed his discomfort because she looked up. She gave him a small smile, but her eyes were so knowing and mesmerizing it didn't come across as quite comforting. "Apatosaurus aren't very smart. Not in the way that the raptors will be. But they are very sweet creatures. You should touch her."

Not hesitating he put a hand out, stroking it over the dinosaurs skin. It let out a groan and his hand stilled. Claire muttered a quiet "it's okay" and started shushing it, continuing to stroke it. She started humming, and used a hand to pull out a medical kit from behind her, one he had not noticed before. Unzipping it with one hand, she opened the top, not bothering to grab anything but bringing her hand to stroke the animals face once more.

Owen sat back on his heels, taking the the creature in front of him that he'd only ever seen drawings and photos of. He took a second to imagine what it would be like when the raptors hatched. Reminding himself that he likely couldn't do this with the raptors, at least not for long, he focused his attention back to the animal in front of him. "Does she respond to that? Is it comforting her?"

"I hope so. There's no real way to tell if any of the animals are satisfied here. At least, not in a way that you can measure. But I think you can see it in their eyes." Owen let out a hum, and she turned back around. He was only slightly startled when she pulled out a needle. Mostly by the size, but considering how large the animal was it made sense. "It won't hurt her. It's thought that they'd live to about a hundred years. But with genetic modification there's much more room for error than there is in nature. Not that it's natural for her to be here in the first place."

Soon enough the deed was done, and the animals loud shudders stopped. Claire sat there a moment before turning to look at Owen. "Let's walk."  
They started heading away from the group who was not approaching the dinosaur, Claire carrying her medical bag. "Well since I highly doubt you're here to watch an apatosaurus die, what's up?"

Owen scratched the back of his head, feeling slightly guilty for walking out, thinking it was appropriate. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that."

"It's fine." Despite her casual attire she sounded very business like. "I'm sure you're concerned about whether adding another person to this project is a good idea." She sounded a lot more serious now, her voice clear and controlled.

"Yeah. Listen, I know that Hoskins doesn't want you there because-"

"-I'm a woman."

"Right. I don't want you to think that's how I feel. I'm just not sure it would work."

"Mr.Grady-" She glanced over at him, and he recognized the look as one his mother used to give him when he was about to be lectured.

"Owen is fine."

"I know plenty about imprinting, and animal behavior, and dinosaurs. I'm sorry if you don't trust my credentials, but I'm going to be working on this project. Mr.Masrani already approved of it, so you'll just have to accept it."

Owen was getting frustrated. He had a headache, and genuine concerns, and he was tired of nobody listening to him. "Isn't it fair for me to worry about the fact that you're going from giving herbivores shots to dealing with carnivorous-"

Claire scoffed slightly. Turning to look up at him. "Do you even have any idea what this project is about?"

"It's a study-"

"What it's actually about. A smart man like yourself, straight out of the navy, you must realize there's something much bigger at play here." They'd stopped and she was glaring at him now, arms crossed over her chest. "I'll just let you know, since you think you know what's best. About five years ago, they were able to make a metriacanthosaurus. A carnivore, very aggressive, eight feet tall, 30 feet long. That is twice the length of a velociraptor. I worked on that project. They wanted to see if they could get her to follow orders. Long story short, it failed. It brought up a lot of questions though, about the intentions of the project."

"What were those intentions?"

Claire had become slightly less tense and was looking at him intently. "InGen was trying to create a weapon out of animal that should've stayed extinct."

"And what, you think-"

"That they're doing the same with the raptors, just downsizing so it seems less dangerous? Yes. I'm almost sure of it."

"How can you be so sure?" Owen asked, crossing his own arms. Now he was more curious about what he was being roped into than he was about Claire, and she sounded so sure of herself he had a hard time not believing her.

"I worked on the first project. Hoskins ran that one as well." She didn't elaborate, but moved on. "You may already know this, but despite the fact that they're smaller, velociraptors are even more aggressive and intelligent. They all start out tiny and cute, but the science's purpose isn't the same as for the herbivores that are displayed to the public. Not only that, but you can't modify instincts, and things can fall apart. You work with animals, you should know that. People aren't careful enough, the design isn't structurally sound, someone trips when they're on the raised walkway..."

She trailed off but he got the picture. Owen bit his lip, taking in everything Claire was saying.

"Mr. Grady, I know it's not the best idea for there to be three of us working with the raptors. But I can assure you now that you will lead the project. I just want the best for these animals, and I really don't want anyone to get hurt. Can you understand that?"

Owen thought it over for a moment, thinking about the flicker of horror in Claire's eyes when she had spoken about the metriacanthasaurus. He'd have to bring it up to Barry later, but she seemed sensible. "I can." Claire nodded, and Owen stuck out his hand. She shook it, and they continued walking. "I'm sorry I questioned you."

"It's okay, Mr.Grady."

"You can call me Owen, Claire."

She let out a noncommital hum. "I will tell you a secret though. Half the reason I took the job was to piss off Hoskins."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about my limited knowledge of velociraptor training facilities. Hope you enjoy!

Claire groaned, leaning back in her office chair. She'd walked in that morning to a giant stack of paperwork, and at 2 in the afternoon was only halfway done with it. She hadn't eaten lunch, she had an awful headache, and she hated paperwork.

Having gotten used to being outside, she only went into her office every other day, and even then it wasn't for that long. She would make sure everything was organized, take care of any paperwork, and make any phone calls.

As much as she enjoyed the air conditioning after spending her whole day outside, she didn't enjoy just sitting around in her office. Which she'd been doing for the past 3 days. Transferring came with a lot of paperwork, and although she would be working with the raptors instead of the apatosaurus, she helped out with baryonyx and the stegosaurus.   
There had been an incident with one of the baryonyx and and intern, and since the main supervisor was gone she had to deal with it.

She could only fill out forms for another 20 minutes before she got so frustrated she forced herself to take a break. Claire got out of her chair, slipping on the heels that she only ever wore on office days, and grabbed her phone and wallet. It was time for a lunch break.

Making her way through the people rushing around the floor, she let out a sigh of relief when she made it to the elevator and no one was in there. Claire hated being in this building. It seemed she couldn't go a day in it without getting a joke about being 'Masrani's golden child', which was why when a hand flew in to stop the elevator doors from closing she let out another groan.

But Claire was not expecting Owen Grady to be on the other side of the door. He walked in, wearing a similar outfit to when she'd met him last. Cargo pants and boots with a tight fit t-shirt. She made sure to focus on his face, giving him a small smile. "Hi, what are you doing in here?"

"Had to talk about some finances for..." he trailed off and looked her up and down. Feeling somewhat self conscious under his gaze Claire straightened her posture. When his eyes met hers she raised a brow. "You're dressed nice."

She looked down at her slim fit black pants and white blouse that she'd probably sweat through in a minute if she was spending the day out in the park. "I was in my office doing paperwork."

"Why's your office in here with all the suits?" Owen asked.

"The A/C is refreshing when you're surrounded by heat and dinosaur shit all day." She deadpanned, watching as his small smile warped into a shit eating grin. He let out a bark of laugh and she tried not to smile too much. The elevator doors opened, and they started walking through the lobby of the building.

"You know Barry and I have a small office out by the raptor facility. It's actually more of a shack, but I'm sure we could fit another desk in there." He was looking at her eagerly, and they stopped just by the doors.

"Thank you, Mr.Grady. It's just that I'm also working with some other groups, and this is more conveniently located." She tried to not feel bad about the fact that he looked disappointed, she hardly knew him, but she almost wished she hadn't refused him when his smile fell slightly. "I uh, I hardly spend any time in the office though. It's just that with this new project there's paperwork and so..." Claire stopped talking and simply smiled.

"Claire," he drawled her name out, giving her a small smirk. "Please stop calling me Mr.Grady."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and turned towards the cafe, calling out "goodbye" behind her.

By the time Claire got home, she felt just about ready to collapse. Peeling off her shirt and stepping out of her pants and heels, she got into a huge shirt that she'd somehow managed to keep from an ex boyfriend from forever ago. She pulled on fuzzy socks, and head to the kitchen, pouring herself what was probably a bit too much wine. Leaning against the countertop she sighed, closing her eyes and rolling her neck and shoulders.

Her phone started buzzing on the counter and she picked it up, smiling when she saw the number. She answered, bringing the phone to her ear and walking towards the couch. 

"Hi Gray."

"Aunt Claire! How are the dinosaurs?"

She grinned, taking a sip of wine before putting the glass down. "They're good." Claire figured telling him that she'd had to put down an apatosaurus wasn't the best idea. "I'm not sure if I told you this, but soon I'll actually going to be working with velociraptors instead of the apatosaurus soon."

She heard him gasp slightly. "Seriously? Can we come down and see them?!"

"It's actually not open to the public. I know you know why."

"Yeah yeah, they're too dangerous. These ones have to to be bigger than actual velocirators would've been too. But if you're working with them we could see them right?"

"Eh, let's maybe start planning the trip before we get ahead of ourselves. I'm not sure how your mom would feel about me introducing you to a carnivorous dinosaur." Gray sighed on the other and and Claire sat up, putting the phone on speaker to rest on her leg and starting to pick at her nails. "How is your mom doing?"

It took Gray a moment to answer. "Fine. Her and dad argue a lot though."

Claire paused, not sure what to say. "Sweetie, sometimes adults go through rough patches. I'm sure they'll work it out." She was lying. Karen and Scott had been going through rough patches since Zach was just a kid, and she doubted it would end any time soon.

"Yeah." Gray sounded doubtful.

"I was thinking about maybe taking time off to visit you guys out there. We can go do a ton of fun stuff, maybe it'll take your mind off of things."

"Really?" Gray's excitement made her smile, but also curse herself. She had no idea when the next time she'd have time off would be.

"Yeah. There won't be dinosaurs, but I'll take lots of pictures to bring."

"That sounds awesome." Claire grinned. "I gotta go aunt Claire. But I'm gonna email you this project I did for school."

"I can't wait to see it. I love you sweetie."

"Love you too."

Claire hung up with a smile on her face, and grabbing the remote turned the TV on to some reality show. Soon enough she was done with her wine and passed out on the couch.

\--------------------

Claire woke up bright and early the next morning, and despite the lack of sleep she hadn't felt so awake in what felt like forever. She showered quickly, leaving her hair to dry naturally, and pulled on a purple t-shirt she'd gotten in her veterinary days, and pulled on gray cargo shorts.

She was finally out of the office, and heading down to the raptor facility to meet with Owen and Barry and assess the progress they'd made on the building so far.

Quickly brushing her teeth she grabbed a granola bar and put on her hiking boots. Locking her door she made her way out of the apartment building and into her car.

It was only a 10 minute drive. At 7:30 in the morning hardly anyone was up, guest not awake yet and attractions not needing to be opened for another half hour. The sun rising was gorgeous, and had Claire smiling softly as she drove on the beautiful island that had become home to her.  
Pulling up and getting out of her car, she saw Barry's car parked outside of a small shack that must've been the office that Owen described. Claire jumped out of her car, grabbing the lanyard with her keys and shoving them into her back pocket. Giving the door a small push, she stepped in.

A small lamp was turned on, and Barry sat in a desk in the corner, looking up when Claire walked in. He smiled and got up, walking over to her and shaking her hand.

"Miss, how have you been?"

"Good," Claire said, smiling at the sight of Barry. They had worked together when he'd first come to the park about 5 years ago, and at the time all the men she was working with were about as slimy as Hoskins. Barry was kind and charming, and although they didn't spend their free time together, she considered him a friend. "Are you excited to get working?"

"Of course. We are both far too early though, there's not much to do until contruction gets here. And Owen. Sit, sit." He motioned towards Owen's desk and she sat down while he returned to his.

Claire unwrapped her granola bar and took a bite. "How is your daughter doing?"

"Very well, thank you for asking. I just went to visit her a while ago actually. And your nephews?"

"They're good. I'm hoping I can get some time off soon and go visit them. I feel bad, I haven't been able to go back for a while."

"You take on far too much work Claire." Barry gave her a knowing look and she smiled at him.

"Trust me, I know. But it needs to get done."

"Yes it does." Barry settled back in his seat, opening up a book about animal behavior. Claire quickly finished off her granola bar, scrolling through her emails while they waited for others to arrive. It was 8:42 by the time Owen showed up, shoving through the door yawning. Finding her sitting at his desk he stumbled back jokingly, and Claire rolled her eyes.

"Is that... Claire? I thought you'd refused our offer to bring your office out here." He brought his arms up behind his head and stretched.

Claire tried to ignore the strip of skin that was exposed and got out of the chair. "Nope. I was just here on time. You should try it sometime."

Owen brought his hand to his heart, wincing. "You wound me." He clapped his hands together, looking between Claire and Barry who was watching their interaction with an   
amused grin on his face. "Anyways, the construction workers are already starting, so we should get out there and check that this thing is raptor friendly."

The three of them walked over to the enclosure, and Claire could already find 5 flaws on sight. She pointed the the raised walkway. "Everything needs to be higher by at least another two feet. They can jump too high for this to be safe." 

They wandered over to the bars that separated the raptors from the people and then yet another set of bars. Looking over at the buttons that were meant to open and close the bars Claire crossed her arms. "This panel is far too close. It needs to be moved more to the left, farther from the entrance into the enclosure." Pressing the button to open it, the bars started to raise and she walked into the enclosure that was just dirt and hay so far. Spinning around, Claire walked over to what looked like a door. "There can't be any doors of any kind in here. I'm not even sure we'll want a small one to send in prey."

"So feeding will be done from the walkway." Barry asked, and Claire nodded at him. 

"Yeah, that makes the most sense. But right off the bat, no interns or anyone who isn't trained is allowed to feed from the raised walkway. And you," she turned to Owen "will want to try and keep them away from the bars when you're working with them. No one should be feeding them or interacting with them through the bars after they're too large to be in the cage with. We don't want them to get too familiar with something they could figure out."   
She leaned back on her heel as they stood circled. "Is there anything else you see wrong?" Owen asked. Claire was surprised he hadn't said anything so far, and just shrugged at his question.

"Nothing too major. As long as the construction is sound, how things play out is mostly up to us. We need to establish strict rules that everyone's going to have to follow." Barry nodded in agreement. "There's a place where they can be harnessed, yes?"

Owen nodded, and they started walking. Claire was trying to keep a calm composure but she remembered the last time she was doing this, when they had made the metriacanthosaurus. Going over all of their mistakes in her head was awful, but she needed to make sure they wouldn't make the same mistakes again.

Claire spent a good 15 minutes looking at the harnesses before walking back over to Barry and Owen. "Well, we probably won't be safe to touch them when they first come into the face harnesses, but once they're grown and will fit in there we should be able to touch them. You should get them used to the idea of getting into them though. We don't want to try to have to force them into anything, it'll just make them more aggressive."

Owen nodded, looking at her with a sort of fond amusement. "You sure know your stuff."

Claire nodded. "Bet you're glad you brought me on now, huh?"

Barry chuckled and Claire smiled at him. Owen just shook his head. "Great, working with you two is just going to consist of getting teased all the time. I don't need to be ganged up on."

"Don't worry pal," Barry clapped Owen's back. "I'll go easy on you. I doubt Claire can make any promises though."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me a bit to update! I've been busy packing and moving into my dorm.   
> Also I didn't have a chance to proof read so sorry about any mistakes. I'll go back and fix them later. I hope you enjoy :)

Owen had been trying to get Claire to talk to him about something other than the raptors, and had subsequently been failing. Any question he asked her that wasn't about the raptors or the park was answered in only a few words. Truth be told he was somewhat jealous when he overheard her and Barry talking. She asked him about his family and they'd talk about random shows or movies. He was attracted to her. Her freckles and the small smiles she gave made him feel like a teenage boy with a crush, and he wasn't planning on marrying her. Owen just wanted to get to know her more.

Which was why he'd called her over to his bungalow, saying that he wanted to talk the process of imprinting on the raptors. It was a Saturday, and the eggs weren't due to hatch for another 3 weeks. They were running out of things to prepare for and thankfully didn't have to work, but he knew the only way he could get Claire out there was by saying work needed to be done.

She showed up in about 30 minutes, wearing jeans and a plain black tank top. She wasn't in the heels he'd seen her wearing at the office, but did have on a pair of black flats. She looked nice, and he smiled as she walked up to him crouched down, working on his bike.

"Hi."

"Hi Claire." He grinned and she rolled her eyes. She did that a lot, Owen wasn't sure if it was frustrating, endearing, or both.

"You wanted to consult, about the imprinting?" He stood up and raised his eyebrows at her. She didn't seem to notice. "You do realize we have some time, right?"

"Consult?" Claire furrowed her eyebrows, confused with his amusement. "You wanna consult out here," he gave her a suggestive smirk, "or in my bungalow?"

She crossed her arms. "Okay, really? That's not funny." His smile just widened at the way her nose scrunched up and he let out a laugh. "Do you actually have anything you want to talk about?"

"Yes, I do. But really, let's go inside. I've been out here all day."

Reluctantly she followed him in. He could see her stop and slip out of her shoes, looking around his small bungalow. "It's not much but..."

"No, it's nice." She followed him over to his small kitchen, standing and watching him as he opened his fridge. "Was the adjustment smooth?"

"Yeah, it's been nice. Don't have as many friends as I did in the navy but, Barry's a great guy. You want a beer?" He looked at her over his shoulder, and she contemplated for a moment before shrugging and nodding. He tossed one to her and she caught it with ease.

"Thanks. Barry is great. We've worked together before."

They walked over the the couch and sat down, Claire sitting far too straight to be comfortable. Owen slumped against the arm, turning so he could face her. "You guys are friends?"

"I'm trying not to take offense to the fact that you sound surprised." She took a sip of her beer and Owen could've sworn her face showed a hint of disgust. But she took another longer one, and finally leaned back slightly, getting comfortable.

"No it's just that, you're Barry's friend, I'm Barry's friend. And we will be working together, so maybe we should get to know each other better."

She blew her bangs out of her eyes and Owen tried to tamp down on his grin before she turned to him. "So this was just some sort of scheme? For us to hang out?"

"I wouldn't say scheme." Claire scoffed, and it looked almost like she was about to get off the couch before he said, "alright. How about you get to ask me any question about work, and then we can try to have a friendly conversation?"

"Three questions."

"Deal."

"Did you know you were going to be training raptors?"

"Nope."

Claire's eyes were trained on him, and he had a feeling she was watching his expressions carefully to look for signs he was lying. "What happened with the dolphins you worked with?"

Owen's eyebrows raised slightly in surprise that she was interested in that, and the fact that she even knew about it. "Masrani had them relocated after I took the job. As a favor."

Claire nodded. "Okay."

"No more? I thought I gave you three."

"I'll save my third one for later."

"Smart choice Dearing." Owen clapped his hands together. "My turn. So really, are Barry and I your only friends?"

He received an eye roll, but she answered "No. I happen to have two other friends as well. Lowery and Vivian. They both work in the control room."

"Where are you from?"

"Wisconsin."

"Huh. Are you close with your family?"

Her face fell but it only took a minute for her to regain her composure and answer. "My sister has two sons. The younger one, Gray, is a genius. He's absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs." Owen could see a smile making its way onto her face, and she looked lighter and more comfortable talking about her nephew. "We talk on the phone at least once a week, so."

"What about the older one?"

"He's going through one of those phases where he acts like he's too cool for everything. I haven't seen them a few years. My sisters husband doesn't want to come out here and well, I have to much to do to get time off."

"You should make the time. It'd be worth it. I'm sure everyone could manage without you. Maybe barely, but they would."

Claire shrugged, going quiet. Her eyes ran over the different photos he had lined up on the wall. She took particular interest in a photo of him and his mother, getting up and going to look at it. A small smile cracked on her face and she turned to Owen. "This is you as a kid?"

"Yup. I was a huge momma's boy."

"Oh I'm sure you were." He was glad when she didn't prod, instead looking at all the other photos. There was one of him with his dolphins, and she carefully took it off the hook and brought it back to the couch with her. "These were your dolphins?"

He nodded. "Yup. Those were my boys." She let out a hum. "You know I miss working with them, but they're probably doing better now."

"Have you thought about what you'll name the girls?"

"Well, considering I'm the alpha, I figured Beta, Charlie, and Delta."

"Wow, original. Seriously, nothing else? I would've expected you to be more original, Owen."

She was smirking, but Owen could care less that she was teasing him, because the sound of his name coming from her mouth was satisfying.

\----------------

Owen was sitting in Claire's office, waiting her to finish her work for the night when he got the phone call.

He'd had his feet up on her desk, but it only took one quick glare before he quickly brought them down. Claire had said she was going to be in the office, and Barry was visiting his daughter. She'd protested when he'd asked, insisting that he'd just make it harder for her to get work done (and he was).

After interrupting her with questions multiple times he could tell she was getting annoyed and settled for tossing the apple she had meant to eat for breakfast into the air and admiring her office (and Claire).

She somehow managed to be just as professional out working with the animals and covered in dirt as she did in skirts and blouses. Carrying herself in a way that practically required you to respect her. But in the past month or so, he'd gotten to see past that professional exterior and see a different side of Claire. One who gushed about her nephews school projects and was a wine snob. He'd found out that she enjoyed mini golf, and marshmallows, and her favorite show was Game of Thrones. She'd still go quiet if he asked her certain questions, but Owen had gotten her to open up. And it may have been the most amazing thing he'd seen in a while.

It didn't change the fact that she constantly rolled her eyes at him though, and when he dropped the apple and it thudded on the ground for the third time her eyes snapped up from her paperwork.

"Owen! I was going to eat that."

"You were not."

"Well whether I was or wasn't it doesn't mean I enjoy you sitting around throwing fruit while I file paperwork that you don't feel like doing." Her point and the annoyed look on her face shut him up, and he sighed, leaning back in his seat. His head was bobbing back, and he was about to drift off to sleep when his cellphone started ringing. 

Claire barely spared a glance when he huffed in annoyance, and he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Not even bothering to check who was calling he answered and brought the phone up to his ear, letting out an annoyed "hello?"

"Mr.Grady? This is Henry Wu." Owen perked up, figuring the only reason Wu would be calling him would be to talk about the raptors. Claire noticed and brought her eyes up, sitting up a bit straighter, eyebrows raised in question. "It seems as though the raptors are about to hatch. I know you-"

Owen jumped out of his seat, shoving his phone in his pocket and heading out the door.

"What's going on?" Claire had stood up and was following him in long strides. 

"The raptors are hatching!" Her eyes widened and she followed him, the clicking of her heels drawing attention to them sprinting to the elevator.

Opting for the stairs when they saw the crowd by the elevator they made it to Claire's car in just under two minutes, and soon were off.

"You better hope this imprinting thing works."

"Why wouldn't it?" Owen glanced at Claire. Her eyes were glued to the road but her brows were furrowed with concern.

"Well you obviously can't be a filial imprint since the difference in humans and raptors movements and many behaviors are so different."

"I'm hoping it's more of a baby duck thing." Owen said, drumming his fingers against the dashboard in anticipation. 

"Yes but velociraptors are no baby ducks. They're dangerous predators."

Owen hummed and thought about it for a moment. Claire was right, but he couldn't let himself get discouraged. "I think as long as I'm there the whole time in the beginning it'll work. At least, it'll work if you drive faster."

"Hey! I'm driving fast enough. We'll get there in a minute."

Sure enough they pulled up to the labs and were jumping out of the car and rushing up the stairs. Heading through the white hallways they dodged people in lab coats glaring at them. The smell of the formaldehyde would normally give Owen a headache but he could hardly notice, worrying instead that the raptors would hatch without him.

They finally made it to the room, Henry and a few other scientists looking up from the incubator as they ran in. They leaned over next to each other, looking into the incubator.

"You two are just in time." They watched carefully as one of the eggs shells started to crack, wonder in both of their eyes. A larger piece started to crack off and Owen went in, pulling it off. Soon enough, the raptor started to emerge, covered in blood and slime, but already moving and opening its mouth. Owens stomach bubbled with excitement and anxiety as he watched the small animal work it's way out of it's egg. He heard Claire let out a small coo, and he glanced over at her. She looked back at him, and the smile on her face and the look in her eyes made him let out a quiet laugh. 

Turning back he picked the the animal up carefully. Holding the first raptor in his hands, Claire standing right next to him with her hand on his shoulder, he had no regrets about signing on to this project.


End file.
